User:Louis/Sullivan County Flock Safety camera contract dispute
Sullivan County, Tennessee moved in August 2026 to end its sheriff's office contract for 10 Flock Safety automated license plate reader cameras deployed along state highways, a roughly $33,000 deal that renews automatically each January unless the county commission acts.[1][2] At an August 13, 2026 commission work session, Commissioner Joe Carr told a Flock representative that the country could not be made great again without hanging your CEO publicly for treason, drawing an immediate on-the-record rebuke from Chairman John Gardner that the commission would not threaten violence.[3][4] Four days later, on August 17, 2026, Sheriff Jeff Cassidy suspended all 10 cameras and asked the commission to let voters decide the cameras' future in a public referendum, citing threats against his staff and family.[1][2] A non-renewal resolution was scheduled for a vote on August 20, 2026, though its sponsor, Commissioner Gary Stidham, said he planned to withdraw it after the sheriff acted.[1]
Contract for 10 cameras the county moved to cancel
[edit | edit source]The Sullivan County Sheriff's Office operates 10 Flock cameras along state highways in the county.[2] The deal cost about $33,000, has already been paid, and expires in January.[1] It traces to August 2024, when Commissioner Gary Stidham of Kingsport sponsored a resolution authorizing a Flock Safety camera contract requested by the sheriff's office.[5] The contract renews automatically in January unless the commission takes action otherwise.[4]
The 2026 non-renewal resolution recites specific data concerns: that data collected by the cameras not be retained for more than 30 days, that it not be sold, and that it be stored on a server the vendor guarantees to be secure.[5][4]
Background
[edit | edit source]As of 2025, more than 80,000 Flock cameras nationwide were accessible to federal Customs and Border Protection.[6] The Sullivan County contract is one of several ALPR deployments that drew local pushback across East Tennessee during the summer of 2026.[3]
The 2026 resolution to block renewal was sponsored by Stidham and co-sponsored by Commissioners Mark Ireson of Colonial Heights and Joe Carr of Kingsport.[5] Stidham, who sponsored the 2024 resolution that created the contract, also sponsored the 2026 resolution to end it.[5] As quoted by the Kingsport Times News, the operative language reads:
Therefore, be it resolved the Board of Commissioners of Sullivan County goes on record now that Sullivan County shall not renew a contract for continued service or provision of technology and/or equipment for the operation of visual surveillance cameras in Sullivan County until such time the concerns above have been addressed either by state law or local policy development.
The measure appeared as Item No. 12 on the agenda for the August 20, 2026 commission meeting.[5]
August 13, 2026 work session
[edit | edit source]The commission first discussed the non-renewal resolution at a work session on August 13, 2026.[4] During the discussion, Carr addressed a Flock Safety representative identified on the record only as Alex, who declined to give a reporter his last name after the meeting because he considered Carr's remark a death threat.[4]
According to WBIR/10News, which printed the exchange, Carr said:
I believe that Flock right now is one of the most hated companies in America. They are one of the most corrupt companies in America.
Carr went on to say, as WBIR reported it:
I don't think we can make America great again without hanging your CEO publicly for treason. Your company is an enemy of the American people.
Chairman John Gardner interjected: Mr. Carr, we are not going to threaten violence to anybody.[3][4]
Carr's written statement to WBIR
[edit | edit source]Contacted for comment the next day, Carr gave WBIR/10News a written statement, distinct from anything said at the meeting:
Flock fears accountability. That's why a $7.5 billion company sent a PR professional to a county work session over a $33,000 contract. ... Next week, Sullivan County has the opportunity to terminate our contract. And God-willing, the state of Tennessee will ban unconstitutional surveillance next session.
Sheriff Cassidy's suspension and referendum request
[edit | edit source]On August 17, 2026, Sheriff Jeff Cassidy indicated the sheriff's office had ceased use of the Flock license plate reader cameras.[1] He gave the reason in a statement quoted by WBIR:
For that reason, we have suspended the use of LPR cameras and believe the people of Sullivan County should have the opportunity to decide whether this technology should continue to be used by the Sheriff's Office.
Cassidy tied the suspension to threats against his office. He said:
[g]iven the ongoing threats directed toward members of my staff, myself and my family, this matter could and should have been addressed through a professional discussion,
adding that instead the issue had become a matter of political rhetoric and public controversy.[1]
Rather than let the commission decide, Cassidy asked it to place a referendum on the ballot so voters could choose whether the sheriff's office continues to use and fund Flock cameras or other license plate readers.[2] Stidham said he checked with county Administrator of Elections Jason Booher about placing a referendum on the November ballot, and he said he planned to withdraw his non-renewal resolution from the agenda.[1]
Scheduled August 20, 2026 vote
[edit | edit source]The non-renewal resolution was scheduled for a vote at the commission's August 20, 2026 meeting as Item No. 12.[5] Passage on a waiver of the rules would require at least 16 votes among the 24-member commission; on second reading in September it would require 13.[5] The sponsor, Stidham, said he planned to withdraw the resolution after the sheriff suspended the cameras.[1]
Regional and federal backlash
[edit | edit source]The dispute followed similar actions elsewhere in East Tennessee. On July 27, 2026, Knox County commissioners unanimously approved a resolution requesting further review of the county sheriff's license plate reader program as that office paused new installations.[8]
At the federal level, Representative Tim Burchett of Tennessee introduced H.R. 9800, the Protection Against Mass Surveillance Act, on July 21, 2026. The bill was referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and remains at the introduced stage.[9]
See also
[edit | edit source]References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Rick Wagner (2026-08-17). "Sullivan sheriff suspends use of Flock cameras". Kingsport Times News. Retrieved 2026-08-19.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Emma Henson (2026-08-18). "Sullivan County sheriff suspends use of Flock cameras after threats and controversy; wants community to vote on future use". WBIR. Retrieved 2026-08-19.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Matthew Fisher (2026-08-14). "Sullivan County commissioner doesn't hold back when speaking to Flock representative". WBIR. Retrieved 2026-08-19.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Rick Wagner (2026-08-13). "Safety vs. privacy: Sullivan commissioners to vote on not renewing Flock cameras contract Aug. 20". Kingsport Times News. Retrieved 2026-08-19.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 Rick Wagner (2026-08-13). "Flock cameras could be on way out in Sullivan County". Kingsport Times News. Retrieved 2026-08-19.
- ↑ Jason Koebler (2025-08-25). "CBP Had Access to More than 80,000 Flock AI Cameras Nationwide". 404 Media. Archived from the original on 2025-08-25. Retrieved 2026-08-19.
- ↑ "Sullivan County Commission resolutions list for August 20, 2026" (PDF). sullivancountytn.gov. Sullivan County, Tennessee. 2026-08-20. Retrieved 2026-08-19.
- ↑ Elana Mutnick (2026-07-27). "Knox County commissioners call for review of Flock cameras as KCSO pauses new installations". WBIR. Retrieved 2026-08-19.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "H.R.9800 - Protection Against Mass Surveillance Act". congress.gov. U.S. Congress. 2026-07-21. Retrieved 2026-08-19.